DEUTERONOMY  Lesson 4

DISCUSSION CHPTS. 9-11, INTRO TO CHAPTS. 12-14

OPEN WITH PRAYER

OPENING: What is your favorite thing to do?

Pass out Prayer Request Cards.  Fill them out and pass them to the person sitting right across from you.

Throughout these three chapters, God reminds the Israelites repeatedly of their disobedience and failings, of who He is and what He has done.  He repeatedly tells them what He wants of them.  The particulars, of course, would be different if He were talking to us, but the principals are the same.  We sin by failing to trust Him and by failing to love Him above all else.  He has done great things for each of us individually and for our country.  What He asks of the Israelites in these chapters are the same He wants of us, to love Him with all of our being.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS CHAPTERS 9-11

1.  Read 9:4-5.  For what 2 reasons is God displacing the people of the lands He is giving

     to the Israelites?  Why has God saved you?

2.  Read 9:22-23, Num. 11:1-3, Ex. 17:2-7, and Num. 11:31-34.  What is the one sin that

     is the source of their unrighteousness?  How is that sin manifested in us?  

3.  Read 9:26-29. What arguments does Moses use to convince God to not destroy all the

     Israelites?

4.  Why does God repeatedly tell the Israelites that despite their unrighteousness He                 

     chose them?  What difference should it make that they did not deserve it?  What     

     difference does it make to you?  

5.  By what authority does God have the right to tell the Israelites what they can and     

      cannot do?  Is it any different for us?

6.  God is not only our King and Savior, He is our role model.  Read 10:17-18.  What

     does God do that we should do, or not do, also?

7.  Read Num. 16:1-35.  What did God do to the sons of Eliab and why?  Read

     Acts 5:1-11.  Describe what happened?  These things do not typically happen today.     

     Are we still to fear the Lord? What reason do we today have to fear the Lord?

8.  In Chapter 11, what is the nature of the blessings God promises for those who obey?  

     Jesus said that if we love Him, we will obey Him. What promises did He make to us if       

     we chose to love Him?    

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTERS 12-14

1.  Chapter 12 elaborates how important it is for the Israelites to have a central place of worship.  They are not to offer sacrifices anywhere else.  They are not to even ask about other people’s practices.  While it may seem strange to us that God commands them to have one place to worship together and commands them that they are not to offer sacrifices elsewhere, consider the importance of belonging to one church.  The issue is accountability.

A.  To which tribe were the Israelites to be accountable?  What was to keep that tribe from becoming too powerful, and, thus become corrupted?

B.  What is the temptation for individuals or churches who are not accountable for the doctrine of the Gospel?

C.  To whom are you accountable? To whom within the church is Pastor Roessler accountable? To whom outside of our church?

2.  Read 12:23-25 and Lev. 17:10-14.  Many think this is merely a part of the Mosaic Law.  Read Gen. 9:4.  Why does God prohibit all people through Noah and the Israelites through Moses from consuming the blood?  What did the Canaanites do?  Read Acts 15:20,29.  Is this relevant to us today?

3.  Read 12:29-31, Eph. 5:8-12, 2Tim. 3:1-5.  How many times must we be warned not to be ensnared by the culture that surrounds us? What are some of the elements of our culture that ensnare those not on guard?  

4. Chapter 13 deals exclusively with the threat of those who would turn us away from God.  Read 13:1-3.  If false prophets can accurately predict events and work miracles, how can we know that are false?

5.  Read 13:12-17.  Why might God command that all the booty be destroyed when a city that turned from God is destroyed?

6.  In chapter 14 are discussed dietary laws.  Read Ch. 14: 2-21

a.  There are no ostriches or pelicans in Egypt or Israel.  Why do you suppose God included them?

b.  Read Acts 10:1-28.  How has Peter interpreted these visions? Is God saying in verses 10-16 that He no longer cares what we eat?

c.  Read: 1Cor. 8:7-13.  Since not eating certain foods does not make us holy, why refrain from eating the foods listed in verses 3-21?

d.  What is the relationship between verses 2 and 3-21?

7. Read Gen. 14:20, 28:22 and Matt. 23:23.  Was tithing initiated by the Mosaic Law?  What was Jesus’ attitude toward tithing?  Should Christians tithe? Why/Why not?